Amazon shares close lower as Trump, postal row continues

Amazon shares closed lower in the US Friday amid news US President Trump has personally requested the head of the US postal service to double the rates it charges Amazon and other businesses.

The initial report was published by the Washington Post which is owned by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos.

Amazon shares closed 0.47% lower at $1,574.37. The stock has been steady-to-a-little-lower in the past four weeks.

Trump attacking Amazon?

According to the Post, who cites up to three people familiar with the situation, in a series of meetings between the President and US Post Master General Megan Brennan, Trump has pushed the postal service to double the prices charged to Amazon and other firms for its shipping services.

Trump has said in the past that Amazon costs the US postal service money. That claim comes despite a variety of sources and calculations highlighting the opposite is true – the US postal service actually benefits from its business with Bezos’ tech giant.

Brennan has reportedly confirmed that detail to Trump and has also detailed that no change in prices can be agreed mid-contract. In addition, any changes in those contracts must be reviewed by a regulatory committee.

However, during April, Trump signed an executive order for the Government to formerly review the US Postal Service’s finances. That‘s something that could lead to changes in it’s contracts with the companies it partners with.

Amazon visits all HQ2 finalists

Separately, representatives of Amazon have reportedly now visited all 20 finalists for future its HQ2 location.

As a reminder, those finalists are:

Atlanta.

Austin, Texas.

Boston.

Chicago.

Columbus, Ohio.

Dallas.

Denver.

Indianapolis.

Los Angeles.

Miami.

Montgomery County.

Nashville.

Newark.

New York City.

Northern Virginia.

Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh.

Raleigh, N.C..

Toronto.

Washington D.C..

The news suggests the global behemoth is closing in on selecting the location for its second US HQ, where it is set to invest $5 billion in the construction of its HQ2, along with some 50,000 new jobs.

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